Mike Costa will be continuing Spider-Verse as Web Warriors with artist David Baldeon

Daredevil by Charles Soule & Ron Garney

Uncanny X-Men by Cullen Bunn & Greg Land

Extraordinary X-Men by Jeff Lemire & Humberto Ramos

All New X-Men by Dennis Hopeless & Marc Bagley

New X-23/Wolverine by Tom Taylor & David Lopez

Venom: Spaceknight by Robbie Thomas & Ariel Olivetti

Howling Comandos of S.H.I.E.L.D by Frank Barbiere & Brent Schoonover

Angela Relaunch With Marguerite Bennett remaining as the main writer on the series and art from Stephanie Hans & Kim Jacinto

Deadpool relaunch by Gerry Duggan & Mike Hawthorne

Writing duties on Old Man Logan will be taken over by Jeff Lemire with Andrea Sorrentino remaining on art.

Thor, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Ms Marvel, Amazing Spiderman, Legendary Star Lord, Howard The Duck, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye, Spiderman 2099 & Silk will also feature the same creative teams that are currently writing the books.

It’s almost summer of 2015 which means Marvel comics will be dropping another event much to the delight of comics shops & corporate shareholders. But this time around feels a little different, this time we are getting something bigger, something different and something that feels like uncharted territory. Starting in May of 2015 and going throughout the summer and beyond, Marvel comics will possibly alter, stop publishing or shake up their entire universe in it’s Secret Wars initiative. Instead of Avengers comics there will be a series of titles upon titles that appear out of continuity. What is going on here? What does this all mean? Is there anything worth reading out of all this? Let’s try an extrapolate what we know below.

As part of Marvel’s many Secret Wars tie ins the publisher will be launching a Infinity Gauntlet series based on the classic miniseries. It will be written by Gerry Duggan of Deadpool, Hulk, Nova & Arkham Manor while being illustrated by Dustin Weaver of Infinity, Avengers, New Avengers, SHEILD: Architects Of Forever, Astonishing X-Men & Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. More details at Hero Complex

Weaver and Duggan’s Secret Wars tie-in continues along its own idiosyncratic path. The first issue centered on the dynamics within a family unit trying to survive a ravaged world. There was plenty of action, though little linking the title to its 90s Event namesake. Weaver and Duggan seemed little concerned with retelling a familiar story, instead focusing on a batch of new characters. The second issue, broadened the scope, adding some familiar faces, yet still traveling in its own narrative direction. That trend continues with the release of #3 as Weaver and Duggan keep on delightfully subverting reader expectations.

Last month’s issue ended with the revelation that Thanos was currently in possession of the Time Gem. As expected of The Mad Titan, he is determined to gain the other five Stones as well, yet, each attempt ends in failure. Luckily (for him) he has the Time Gem, which allows him to rewind the clock after each defeat; it is essentially his own personal “do-over” button. However, after so many failed attempts, he has decided that a new approach is needed. The family at the center of the series has a mother who is a Nova, and she in turn possesses another of the Gems. Instead of direct confrontation, Thanos concludes that a more devious approach may be required.Continue reading Review of The Infinity Gauntlet #3→

1872 introduces readers to another domain of Battleworld, an Old West reimagining of the Marvel Universe. Set within the frontier town of Timely, nestled within the Valley of Doom, 1872 immediately draws on the standard tropes of both the Western and Marvel comics. This is announced immediately by the two page map which opens the issue. Familiar Western hallmarks such as the courthouse, train station, and pleasure house (“Casino”) fill the town, along with nods to Marvel tradition such as Pym’s Hardware or B. Banner’s Apothecary. Scattered among the outskirts are various landholdings from the Parker Homestead to The Black Bolt Ranch. On the edge of town is the Roxxon Silver Mines, resting in the shadow of The Savage Mountain. It is a clever bit of fan service, even if most of the Western analogues are predictable. The most intriguing detail from the map is the full name of the local law practice: Murdock, Nelson & Owlsley.

The story itself begins with Red Wolf dragging a box full of TNT through the desolate Valley. He hopes to destroy the dam which provides Roxxon with its water by diverting it away from the tribal areas. Red Wolf’s attempted sabotage is prevented, though, and soon the Native American finds himself sitting on a horse with a noose around his neck. His life is only spared at the last minute due to the intervention of Sheriff Steve Rogers. Rogers will not see anyone hang in his town without a proper trial, even if the lynch mob has the blessing of Mayor Wilson Fisk, who serves at the pleasure of Governor Roxxon. Rogers takes Red Wolf into protective custody, while awaiting his trial. Neither the sheriff nor readers are surprised to learn that Fisk does not simply let matters rest.Continue reading Review of 1872 #1→

Out of the many Secret Wars tie in series, Infinity Gauntlet was the most curious. It’s playing on the title of what is perhaps, the best “event” in Marvel comics history but it wasn’t featuring any of the creators from the original series or any of it’s subsequent squeals in spite of those creators being relativelyactivewith Marvel over the last year. Instead, the series would use fast rising Marvel stars Gerry Duggan & Dustin Weaver, the former of which would be implementing the Nova corps concept that he had been working on in the ongoing series. This was all fragments of information, it was nearly impossible to predict what was coming out of this series but with it’s release this week, Infinity Gauntlet exceeds expectations in creating an excellent new series from patchworks of the Marvel universe & genre tropes. Infinity Gauntlet is a story about a family trying to survive in a post apocalypse wasteland via giant space bugs while their mother is lost in space with the Nova corps. Infinity works best in the way it builds it characters and the world around them by letting the story do the heavy lifting. The family dynamic and stakes are immediately apparent and felt from the characters environment and reaction against it. Marvel cannon is utilized without being beholden to it and instead, used sparingly. This is especially effective with Thanos, who is more like a ghost haunting the peripherals of the story then the center of it. Dustin Weaver’s art is fantastic in it’s details, acting and movement; it might be the best work he’s ever done.

What’s become most apparent with the Secret Wars tie-ins is how the books have worked bestthe farther removed they are from the main titles story line. Infinity Gauntlet has a minimal connection to the Secret Wars title, the original series or Marvel continuity as a whole, but in place of all that; it’s give a highly original debut that stands up on it’s own merits. There has been a lot of great work coming out of the Secret Wars line so far and Infinity Gauntlet is one of the best.

The Story: Jack Shaw’s (Bruce Wayne) first encounter with the killer of Arkham Manor ends badly, with him escaping and Jack injured. After a visit to the infirmary, he disguises himself as a doctor and searches the secret passages looking for the killer. He finds him, but again the killer escapes and leaves behind Victor Zsasz, his prime suspect for the killings. Meanwhile, the inmate that was attacked by the killer leaves the Manor to be taken into into the city to be treated, but not before he falls into a sinkhole revealing underground tunnels. The issue ends with “Eric Border” unleashing Clayface with a makeover into the Manor.

The Art: Crystal’s anatomy gets more exaggerated here to emphasize the action and movement. He and McCaig work in tandem to make the atmosphere of the Manor seem cramped and foreboding on almost every page, as it should be.

Overall: I’m enjoying the running gag of Mr.Freeze’s robot surrogate getting turned off, the Arkham killer less so. There are less character moments in this issue then in the previous two; we’ve seen inmates discuss they’re first Bat-encounter, Batman facing a threat he can’t punch away, here we see him crawling around walls and lose against a mysterious foe again. It seems by the end that either the Batcave could be discovered or how Joker has been getting in and out of the Manor could be revealed. His inclusion at the end of the issue felt really unnecessary (SPOILERS; Eric Border is the Joker), as though this series is preparing to tie into Endgame like the other bat-books. I can’t say for sure how I would’ve “fixed” this issue but it felt off definitely. I know it’s days are numbered literally, but I don’t see how it can’t exist inside its own bubble as a fun sidestory to the other bat-books instead of as a drawn-out murder mystery.

The Story: Bruce Wayne is undercover in Arkham Manor, posing as “Jack Shaw”. He acts like a model patient, observing the other inmates and looking for clues. Someone is killing the inmates at the Manor, and two have died already. Right when Bruce closes in, the killer gets away and leaves him as the prime suspect.

The Art: Crystal uses some great facial expressions, which help set the tone of the series. Batman himself never shows up in costume; so Crystal has to make ordinary characters and their interactions exciting. Through intriguing camera work and perspective, he does this well.

Overall: The idea of Batman inside Arkham Asylum is not new, but the execution here makes it feel fresh. It has a comedic tone, and doesn’t feature Batman in costume. With fun insights, the book stays interesting beginning to end. For my money, this is the strongest new Batman book on the shelf. Though it may as well be a mini-series (because the current plot can’t go on forever), it is worth checking out for those wanting a lighter Batman book.